Women’s Basketball Narrowly Defeats Nichols 66-63 at Brandeis Tip-Off Tournament

WALTHAM, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College women's basketball team picked up a 66-63 victory over Nichols in the Brandeis Tip-Off Tournament consolation game Saturday.

The Lions improve to 2-1 on the year with the win while the Bison fall to 1-2 overall.

All-Tournament Team selection Stevie Orton (Gilford, N.H.) notched her first double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Jenn Burnham (West Valley City, Utah) tallied 18 points and grabbed nine boards. Moira Phillips (Middlesex, N.J.) scored 10 points and collected seven rebounds. Shante Slender (Kayenta, Ariz.) and Janeth Cruz (Reseda, Calif.) both chipped in with five points off the bench.

Eastern Nazarene got out to an early 8-0 lead before Nichols got on the board with a trey with 6:16 left to play in the first quarter.

The Lions pushed their advantage to double digits, 15-5, as Orton tossed in a layup with 1:37 remaining in the opening period.

Eastern Nazarene sported a 17-11 lead through 10 minutes of action.

The Bison trimmed the margin to 22-20 with 4:04 left to play in the second quarter on a layup by Alexis Finnerty.

The Lions clung to a 29-25 edge at the midway point of the contest.

Nichols captured its first lead of the game with 3:25 on the clock in the third, 42-41, as Melody Millett banked in a layup.

Eastern Nazarene battled back to reclaim the lead with 1:52 to go in the third quarter on a layup by Cruz, 45-44.

The two teams headed into the final period knotted at 47-47.

Nichols chalked up the first five points of the fourth quarter to seize a 52-47 advantage.

The Lions clawed back to snag a 58-56 lead with 4:58 remaining in regulation as Orton converted two free throws.

After the Bison pulled even at 58-58 with 2:38 on the clock, Eastern Nazarene outscored Nichols 8-5 down the stretch to earn a 66-63 win. Phillips secured the victory with a block on Finnerty's last-second three-point attempt.

The Lions shot 36.4% from the floor and just 11.8% from beyond the arc in the game. The Bison finished with a field-goal percentage of 40% and connected on 3-of-11 from three-point range.

Finnerty paced Nichols with a game-high 25 points off the bench while Isabella Nerney added 16 points.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene will face NCAA Division I Merrimack November 20.